Charter schools will be priority for Alabama lawmakers, House Speaker Mike Hubbard says

View full sizeMike Hubbard, R-Auburn and Alabama House speaker, tells the Birmingham Rotary Club that charter schools will be a key issue in the 2012 session. (The Birmingham News file)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Allowing charter schools in Alabama -- one of just nine states that doesn't allow them -- will be a priority in the upcoming legislative session, Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, told the Birmingham Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon.

"The status quo is not an option," said Hubbard, who is speaker of the House of Representatives. "(The system) isn't working, and we need some changes."

Charter schools are public schools that exist through a contract with either a state agency or local school board. Charter schools are free from much of the bureaucracy and regulations traditional public schools must follow, but must achieve stringent goals set out by the charter, including improving student achievement.

"We must do something to fix Alabama's drop out rate, which is up to 40 percent in some schools," he said. "I am an advocate of school choice."

"Memphis is very similar to Birmingham and their scores increased at the charter schools," he said. "It is not a panacea. It's not a cure-all for all of our ills. But it will provide an option ... We should not force parents, our taxpayers, to send their kids to schools that are failing."

Other priorities during the upcoming session, which begins Feb. 7, include job creation and running a more efficient government.

Job creation, he said, occurs in the private sector, not government. But the government can make things easier, he said.

A few upcoming bills will help that, he said, including a bill to streamline tax incentives to recruit and retain jobs, a bill that would offer tax incentives to companies that hire active members of the military, and a bill that would require an exhaustive study before any additional regulations on businesses could be imposed.

"Like I said, the government does have its role, but it should be there to help businesses prosper, not to hinder growth," Hubbard said.

Alabama's immigration law also will be a topic of discussion in the upcoming session, he said.

Hubbard promised the law will not be repealed. Instead, he said, it will make it more business friendly. The law also may be changed to allow more temporary work visas to be issued for agricultural workers, he said.

"We are committed to fixing it to make it even better," he said.

The final priority includes right-sizing the government, he said.

"We are looking at every area of government and looking at duplication," he said. "Believe it or not, we have some duplication, and we want to make sure we have the right size state government."